Grant, Claire;
Bicknell-Morel, Tamsin;
Lever Taylor, Billie;
Powell, Claire;
Blackburn, Ruth Marion;
Lacey, Rebecca;
Woodman, Jenny;
(2024)
Perinatal healthcare for women at risk of children's social care involvement: a qualitative survey of professionals in England.
BMJ Open
, 14
(3)
, Article e082914. 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082914.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Women with complex health needs are more at risk of having children's social care involvement with their newborns than other mothers. Around the time of pregnancy, there are opportunities for health services to support women with these needs and mitigate the risk of mother-baby separation. Yet little is known about healthcare professionals' experiences of providing this support. METHODS: We administered an online survey to perinatal healthcare professionals across England (n=70 responders), including midwives, obstetricians, perinatal psychologists/psychiatrists and health visitors. We asked about their experiences of providing care for pregnant women with chronic physical conditions, mental health needs, intellectual/developmental disabilities and substance use disorders, who might be at risk of children's social care involvement. We conducted a framework analysis. RESULTS: We constructed five themes from participant data. These include (1) inaccessible healthcare for women with complex needs, (2) the challenges and importance of restoring trust, (3) services focusing on individuals, not families, (4) the necessity and caution around multidisciplinary support and (5) underfunded services inhibiting good practice. CONCLUSIONS: Women who are at risk of children's social care involvement will likely experience perinatal healthcare inequities. Our findings suggest that current perinatal healthcare provision for this population is inadequate and national guidelines need updated to inform support.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Perinatal healthcare for women at risk of children's social care involvement: a qualitative survey of professionals in England |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082914 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082914 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Child protection, MENTAL HEALTH, Maternal medicine, Substance misuse, Infant, Newborn, Pregnancy, Infant, Child, Humans, Female, Health Facilities, England, Health Personnel, Intellectual Disability, Delivery of Health Care |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Education > UCL Institute of Education > IOE - Social Research Institute UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > Institute of Epidemiology and Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Population, Policy and Practice Dept |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10188879 |
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